The International Tax Compact (ITC) recently organised a workshop forinternational and regional tax organisations to discuss and formulate the draft strategic plan for the Network of Tax Organisation (NTO). NTO is an umbrella body that seeks to bring together tax organisations to enhance collaboration and deepen cooperation among them for the benefit of their mutual membership especially in the area of capacity building and research.

The workshop, held in New York City from 10-13th February was attended by the CEOs/Heads of Secretariats of ATAF, ATAIC, CATA, CIAT, CREDAF, PITAA and WATAF. The event was sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The outcome of the workshop was a draft Strategic Plan spelling out the mission and vision of the organisation, the strategic objectives, the relevant initiatives and the brand logo. There are ongoing discussions to fine tune the document.

The first global conference organised by the Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT) was held in New York from the 14th to 16th February, 2018. CATA was among the several international and regional tax organisations that participated at the conference. The conference, whose theme was ‘Taxation and Sustainable Development Goals’, was hosted at the United Nation Headquarters and was attended by over 400 delegates from 102 countries. A number of side events were also held where delegates discussed various issues ranging from capacity building in tax administration in the context of the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) and the Addis Tax Initiative.

On behalf of the Management Committee and all member countries of CATA, the Executive Director wishes to congratulate The Gambia through The Gambia Revenue Authority on her readmission to the Commonwealth and the CATA family.

A high level conference on tackling the challenges associated with taxation of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) was held in Vienna, Austria - convened by the WU Global Tax Policy Centre at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business). CATA Executive Director Duncan Onduru, was among a host of international speakers who were invited to address over 100 delegates that attended the conference. In his remarks, Mr Onduru pointed out that the challenges posed

Only a few weeks remain until the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (GHOGM) commences. The biennial meeting will see Commonwealth leaders coming together in London and Windsor, UK from 16th to 20th April, 2018.

The theme of the upcoming meeting is: ‘Towards a common future’ and the four main goals are: a more sustainable future; a fairer future; a more secure future; and a more prosperous future.

For 2018 the very highly regarded ALP programme provided for CATA by HMRC has been revised and renamed the Senior Leadership Programme. For the first time the programme, which was formerly wholly based in the United Kingdom, will be delivered in two phases. Part 1 will take place in Uganda from 21st May to 1st June. Part 2 will follow in the United Kingdom (Lincoln and London) from 30th July to 17th August.

Please note that the deadline for applications is Friday, 16th March, 2018.